Daddy's first vacation days of the year were spent in San Antonio for Christmas, a long time coming and a whirlwind of a visit ( Saturday to a Wednesday) but perfect none the less!
Boy did it feel good to be "home for the holidays!" I understood the meaning more than ever before this year!
We would be going between both families, but staying the nights at my parents house.
We made sure to spend a lot of time outside, for these homesick Texans were missing the outdoors,
so we headed to the hill country first!
Benjamin appreciated every warm Texas moment he got and aquired a new found appreciation for rocks! A 5 minute walk around the block turned into an hour affair, with him picking up each one that looked interesting and having to "talk about it."
It was so cute! Bekah neeeever noticed rocks, and if she did, she did not care one bit!
Oh how I love this face . . .
Grandpa and Benjamin taking in a lovely San Antonio morning on the swing:
Benjamin was noticably happy, being outside, it warmed my heart, giving this snowed in, backyardless little boy moments like this!
On Sunday, we had a Frolow/May/Burkhart Christmas get together at my parents house, where Bekah was once again spoiled by Pammie Pie's excellent taste in fashion!
She currently has on her new "shawl", fancy earmuffs and a headband : ).
Benjamin made sure to get in some good time with his family that he misses so much.
And Bekah made sure she got MayMay to read to her, making up for lost times.
It's a favorite past time of theirs.
It was fun to have Gramommy do the Advent calendar with the kids each day, she was the one who introduced us to it afterall.
The doting over Benjamin really sent our boy into high spirits, he was thriving off of so much attention!
What a blessed time it was!
The kids enjoyed all the TLC and all the laughs that were had with Aunt Rani and Uncle Jeff.
I love that Bekah "gets Jeff" and really expects humor out of him (or sarcasm!)! Every time she talks with him, she has this little grin on her face, waiting for entertainment from this funny guy!
(notice jeff's purposeful expression here!)
Christmas Eve came and we got the kids dressed up for church, Benjamin checked out the presents,
and in the midst of runnning late, we attempted a family pic . . .
After church ( where Benjamin was the ONLY one in the nursery for the 7pm service! he did great they said!) we headed back to MayMay and Grandpa's.
The kids stayed up waaaaay too late ( 10:30 I think?? whoa Benjamin, that's a first for you!) acting silly and running around,
and Bekah thought that my parents hung the moon when she opened up her gifts, Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder dolls! These are seriously what she goes for each and every time we walk into the Disney Store ( which maybe has been 4 times in her life?) and is always soooo awesome about not asking to have them and putting them back when we have to leave. It was so special to reward her patience and good manners with ones of her own! I mean, look at that happy face of glee!
We set out cookies for Santa, and
Daddy took Bekah outside to drop reindeer food on the lawn and we did our best to help Bekah calm down enough to fall asleep!
Next morning, Bekah happily helped Benjamin open his presents, big sister perk.
Thanks Aunt Rani and Uncle Jeff for his race car ramp!
Bekah continued to recieve clothes and immediately give us a fashion show. . .
Opening up the stocking, she especially liked her new "dora" magnifying glass : )
and fossil building kit. Santa was trying to find some balance in this girls princess world!
Speaking of princesses, here is what Bekah wanted most from Santa this year,
a Jasmine dress! She was so very consistent on it and when she was asked, she said this, and this alone, which was great, simple and easy to make happen! She absolutely loves it and wears it all the time. She asked for Cinderella's dress last year, Jasmine this year, who knows what next year, Brave's? We will see!
Look at that pointed toe!
( she told me she feels like one of the indian dancers from the Nutcracker when she is wearing it!)
This much daddy time was a gift in itself!
Benjamin was funny this year, he didn't really know what to do with all the gifts, I think he was more into the people : ). Like I said, being with our family really was the Christmas gift for us this year!
Grandpa gave Benjamin quite alot of Longhorn gear this year, I think he too was trying to find some balance, with all the Green and Gold that surrounds his grandchildren!
The "most influential" gift of the year would go to The Nutcracker movie, given to us by Aunt Rani. She searched high and low for the PBS version that she watched as a little girl, and here she is, watching it with her neice! Rani, you have NO IDEA how much our girl loves this movie! She pretty much has it memorized, it didn't hurt that she logged so many hours while she was sick this month!
That afternoon, we headed to the Burkharts to have Christmas with them!
Oh these kid pics, you take what you can get, right?
Bekah's favorite had to be her and Barbara's matching jammies : ).
It was 2 Christmas' ago, when Bekah first laid eyes on "our Barbara!"
Sort of ridiculous how much I love that doll! : )
Benjamin really "raked it in" in the book department, thanks Aunt Sarah!
Bekah enjoyed all the present opening, and says thank you for everything! At the end of the day though, all this girl really wanted was to dress up and play pretend with her family!
( mermaid dress with chaps and new houseshoes!)
Santa certainly came to SA to stuff their stockings and to give Bekah her Jasmine dress, but that was all Santa could stuff in his already over stuffed suitcase. Bekah was perfectly happy to wait for her other 2 presents from Santa when she got back home, where he had dropped them off on Christmas Eve : ). It was a nice thing to have for the kids to come home to, since we were all a little sad to say goodbye to Texas.
Bekah and Benjamin also exchanged their brother/sister gifts. Benjamin gave her the Ella Bella Nutcracker book and Bekah (and mommy : )) searched high and low for an "Alladin jammies" for Benjamin. Nothing could be found ( probably because mommy is such a bad internet shopper), so Super Mickey Jammies were the next best thing!
She also opened up some sweet presents from friends,
thanks Evie! We've been wanting this for a long time now!
Thanks Jack and Fisher for remembering us as well!
More "boyish" dress up props are in need at this house!
Bekah's other 2 presents were a puppet show and puppets!
It's been a fantastic gift for this family that must stay indoors more than ever before these days! Additionally, it takes this imaginative girl's creativity to a whole new level!
Santa was pretty "concerned" about our family's survival in the winter here, so he also opted to give Benjamin a gift to make the indoors more fun.
This is what he came up with!
Bekah really likes it ( and so does Daddy, ha!) and Benjamin is good with it, but doesn't really show much interest. He does like the balls that I got to go inside of it . . .
It since has been moved and isn't as much as an eye sore in the house, and as I said, Daddy is a fan, when he's home, I can find them in it : ). Memories are being made,
Santa doesn't regret it, I am sure we will get our miles out of it, right?
I have really come to appreciate the journaling aspect of blogging, taking a moment to reflect on an event or a holiday. Now looking back over all the pics, our Christmas was perfect for us. The extra attention/excitement on spending time with family and friends this year helped to naturally prioritize the way that our holidays were spent. The focus on Jesus and not the presents also seemed to just happen as well, and that felt good and right. I am grateful to God for keeping us centered on Him and the gratitude we feel towards Him and all that he Has given us.
I pray that He continues to lead our family this year to grow in our faith and knowledge of him : ).
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